LOST SOCIETY: Bursting with energy

This is not just another young Thrash Metal band… Lost Society´s debut album turned out to be quite impressive, and they will have the honour to warm up for OVERKILL on their Finnish tour dates. Therefore STALKER just had to get hold of guitarist and vocalist Samy Elbanna to find out more …

Could you introduce the band in a few words?
We are Lost Society and we come from Jyväskylä, Finland! We are a Speed/Thrash Metal band and our debut album was released on 15th of March via Nuclear Blast Records. We´ve been together since 2010 and our current line-up consists of me, Samy Elbanna, on guitar and vocals, Arttu Lesonen on guitar, Mirko Lehtinen on bass and Ossi Paananen on the drums!

Can you describe your sound in a few words so that people feel like listening to you guys ?
The Lost Society sound is made up of fast and definitely loud distorted guitar riffing, completed by shred solos by both guitarists, and the bass and drum sounds are heart pounding and lay a really good base for the songs. The singing style is made up of raspy cleans and aggressive, angry screaming that still are catchy! The sound gives out tons of energy and the songs will make you want to bang your heads and put your fists in the air!

Boring question, but always useful for the listener: what are your main influences ?
The biggest of our influences definitely are Megadeth and Anthrax, and these you can see from the fast riffing and the attitude of the music. Another big influence is Pantera, from who we´ve learned to make the groove parts of the songs and the shred solos! We have also a number of other influences that come from crossover, traditional heavy metal. We´ve kinda taken many of those and mixed them up and added the touch of Lost Society in it, this is what we got!

Tell us about the composing process : who writes the music ? Is it a team work ?
The songs basically get their beginning from a riff from either me or Arttu, usually, but definitely the other guys have given a starting idea for a song! Anyway, after the riff is done, we basically start jamming together, and more and more riffs come about, and before we know it, the song is done. It´s definitely a team effort, because more often than not, we don´t tell the other guys what to play in each song, they make the things themselves, which is awesome!

What about the lyrics ?
The lyrics usually I make after the song is done musically. I just listen to the riffs and then start thinking about what the song Sounds like, and then I get a theme for the song and start writing the lyrics after that. Many times I get inspired while playing the song and the lyrics come very quickly.

In terms of lyrics, what are the main themes you deal with ?
We deal with many subjects on the songs, but we are not bound to a certain kind of theme, the songs can be about almost anything I’d say! We have many songs that have lyrics about a beaten up world and everything that’s wrong with it, which kind of comes from the name Lost Society itself, but we have also songs about freedom and getting to do whatever you want to and not getting bound to a certain place. Of course there’s also the songs where the lyrics are just pure fun and about subjects that aren’t that serious!

You were involved in the global battle of the band world. You got to the final. Tell us a bit more about this experience. How was it ?
The GBOB-competition was a really important step in coming this far, because it got us the publicity that we needed. The competition was a really great time for all of us. We got to meet so many new people and new bands that were really damn good! It was also really great playing in both the Finnish finals and the world finals, because both were in huge venues and we really got the crowd to our side, it was awesome!

You got to play in London on 9th December. Did you enjoy your time out there ?
YES! It was a really great trip for all of us, as I mentioned, we got to meet so many new people which was really cool. We were hanging out with all the bands out there and checking their performances out! As for our performance, we gave it our all and we gave the people out there a good, fast and loud time! Overall, awesome trip, and the after party of the show was insane..

You´ve been around for barely three years and you have already inked a deal with one of the biggest label in the metal music industry : Nuclear Blast. Can you tell us a bit more about that collaboration. How did it happen ? How did the label spot you etc. ?
It´s crazy man! But yeah, the whole deal actually came together, because the guys in NB had seen our performance-video from the GBOB finals of Finland, and they liked it and the next thing was that they contacted us and we started negotiating a deal, and now we´re here with our album! Its been amazing what we´ve done with them, it´s great working with the NB team and I look forward to working with them in the future too!

You recorded your first demos in your rehearsal room. I suppose recording in a studio was different. Tell us about your first experience in the studio . How did it differ ? How did you like it ?
Yeah it was definitely a different experience. It was really great to have the best of equipment and a professional team of studio-experts with us during the recording of the album. We all had heard good things about the studio, and when we entered there and starting laying out the tracks, we knew we were in really good hands! And the outcome is awesome, a really good sounding album!

And how did you feel to have a professional around ( namely the producer Nino Laurenne) working with you ?
It was awesome working with Nino! He really got us the sound we wanted and he gave us really good tips that will be remembered and which made the album sound even better. Nino really knew about the music we played and knew how to get all the potential out of it. We really hope we can continue working with him!

Are you guys satisfied with the final result of “ Fast Loud Death” or is there anything you´re frustrated about ?
YES! We really couldn´t be happier about the album, every time we listen to it again and again, it just makes us happier and happier! In the recording process there were actually no problems and once we got the final mixes and mastered versions, we were really happy, the album is a fast loud attack and we hope that every single one of you like it as much as we do!

To me, one of the most most prevailing feature is that your energy was captured onto the album and well conveyed. Is it one of the things you´re most proud of ?
Definitely. Our energy has always been one of the biggest strengths with us, and when entering the studio, it was crucial that we captured the feeling of our energetic playing on the album. We got that done with the help of our great producer Nino Laurenne! The outcome really captures everything that we are, and then some. When you tune in to listen to the album, you´re gonna mosh for the next 15 songs!

The album includes a cover of “I Stole Your Love” by KISS. Why did you choose that song ?
The song is a cover we´ve played countless times, live as well! We all really love KISS and what´s a better way to tribute them but this! We got a pretty damn good version of it done, which respects the original song and also gives a little bit of Lost Society in it! We added some guitar solos and some spices onto it and we´re very happy with the results!

Let´s talk about the artwork ! It was designed by the famous Ed Repka (MEGADETH, DEATH, SANCTUARY, VENOM). How did the collaboration go ? Did you guys have the opportunity to communicate with him ?
As you can see from the outcome of the cover, it went really damn well! We basically gave our initial idea of the cover and he transformed it into this work of art! He has our idea of the tour bus with our arms coming out of a smashed up town, then added his own touch, his own signature style, with the reaper driving the bus etc. We´re all proud to have this as the album cover!

Do you think the cover designed by Ed Repka represents the album accurately ? Why ?
It really does! The cover art carries out the theme of the album, that 4 crazy guys are going from town to town on their tour bus, destroying the places as they move around. The cover has a feeling of having a hurry, which is pretty accurate since the songs are so fast! Ed captured the energy of the album and transformed it into an amazing album cover which will definitely catch the eye!

Ed Repka designed many album covers : do you have any favorite ? 🙂
One that is really one of the coolest covers ever is the Peace Sells… but Who´s Buying?
It is really one of a kind and definitely one of my favorites!

After the release of “Fast Loud death” in March, will you then have a tour coming up or at least some shows ? In Finland ? Abroad ?
We´re definitely gonna play some shows after the release of the album, as for the dates and all the info, it will be told later… Keep your eyes open and check out all the dates from our official facebook page and the NB website! (confirmed by now are the OVERKILL dates in Finland and TUSKA festival, the ed.)

Who would you dream to tour with ?
One of the bands would definitely be ANTHRAX! They´ve been such a huge influence on us and we all love the band. Would be really awesome to share the stage with those guys someday, and to meet them!! We all hope that someday it could work out!

More and more young bands play music from the eighties ( with of course a modern touch added to it ). Do you have the feeling there´s currently a revival of thrash metal ?
I really think so, first of all because I think the best music was made in the eighties! The music from back then is so pure and in those times people knew how to play their instruments with style! This is one of the places where we are coming from, we want to bring that kind of energy and style back to the 21st century as what there was back then!

Thanks a lot for your time ! Feel free to add some last words.
The pleasure was all mine! On behalf of the whole band, I´d like to thank all the supporters out there, you guys are awesome! Check out the album, come check us out live and keep on supporting Lost Society! THRASH!

https://www.facebook.com/lostsocietyfinland

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Marine Crepiat

marine@stalker-magazine.rocks - - - Reports - Reviews - Photos
Passionate and curious by nature, I'm interested in ways through which I can express my opinion and communicate my feelings. Writing, photography, singing, drawing, languages... are the main things I keep myself busy with ! As for music, my favorite genre is music that speaks to me and that conveys a certain atmosphere. It can a be a pop or a metal song, some thrash or death metal tune... so the actual genre doesn't really matter to me.